Soccer

I have finally grown my own soccer team!

This fall, I signed up all 5 children to play Upward Soccer.  The league was perfect for us.  Upward is a developmental sports program, with an emphasis on good sportsmanship, so there was no pressure to win.  The fields and teams were smaller than a typical soccer program.  That made it possible for the league to run 6 fields of games at the exact same time.  It was wonderful.  The kids and I would go to the field every Saturday morning, for an hour of practice and an hour of games.  

My 5 kids were on 3 different teams.  Jersey #1 and Jersey #2 were on the same team.  Jersey #3 was on a team on his own.  Jersey #4 and Jersey #5 were on the same team, and I was their coach.  Everyone had the same uniforms, reversible red and black.  

All of the kids seemed to enjoy playing soccer.  It was a fun family activity.  Jersey #3 appears to be a natural athlete, so he picked up the sport right away and usually scored goals every game.  Jersey #1 enjoys soccer and has played a few years before.  She had a blast, and often scored a goal.  There was one game where Jersey #2 scored a goal for her team.  It was her first goal, and she was thrilled.  The last time she played soccer, we did not realize her heart was on a downward trend, and she did not enjoy running around at all.  I am glad she enjoyed this soccer season.  She has even asked to play again next year.

Jersey #4 and Jersey #5 thought soccer was fun enough.  They are not kids who run around just for the sake of running, so they complained about having to run back and forth along the field so much.  Jersey #5 wanted a snack after every quarter, and cheered when it was his turn to sit out.  Jersey #4 was pretty tough for such a petite thing.  She would take the ball away from the opposing team, and kick it.  Then, she would stop and check to make sure I saw her kick the ball.  Most of the time, this meant that she missed the next couple plays.  

From the moment I signed up all 5 kids for soccer, I knew I wanted to make our family photo a soccer team theme this year.  I waited anxiously to see what color the uniforms were.  Black and red worked great, because The Referee prefers to wear black.  I pictured the kids in uniforms, girls in red and boys in black, with me in a red shirt and The Referee in a black shirt.  I was so excited.  Unfortunately, The Referee refused to take a family photo with us this year, so my plans were ruined.  I was really disappointed about that.  I did get some great photos of me and the kids though.  I suppose that is a more accurate representation of our family this year anyway.

My sister took our family picture, and took a few different fun poses, including the kids hanging from the goal posts.  

I did learn that outdoors in the sunlight is not a good place to attempt a circle of heads photo...

I enjoyed playing soccer as a kid.  So, it was fun for me to get to see all of my children enjoying a season of soccer too.

Go Team Go!

A Team of My Own

I finally have my own team!

A 5-person soccer team.

When we start welcoming more children than the socially acceptable 2.1, folks will often comment about how pretty soon we will have enough for a basketball team....baseball team....or whatever sport seems relevant at the time.  I find that fun and amusing.

This Fall, all 5 kids are playing Upward Soccer.

Upward is played differently than most soccer programs.  It is Christian-based, with a strong focus on sportsmanship and Christ-likeness.  Competition is low key, and encouragement is high.  It is an excellent program for younger kids, or for kids who may not be real athletic by nature.  For our family, it is also wonderful because all 5 kids can play at the same time, as practices and games are at the same field.  

Another difference is that the Upward soccer program we participate in is playing games of 5 versus 5 players, and no goalies.  

To have my own basketball team, I would need 6 kids.  To have my own baseball team, I would need 9 kids.  Typically, to have my own soccer team, I would need 11 kids.  But, with this season's Upward Soccer, I can have my own team with just 5 soccer players!

How fun is that!

Technically, my children do not all play on the same team.  They are different ages, and they are placed on teams based on age category.  All have identical jerseys, though, because Upward uses reversible jersey's to distinguish between home team and visiting team.  So, really, I am just pretending they are my team.

My real team this season is a team of Kindergartners and 1st graders.  I signed up to coach.  Yes, I finally put the "Coach" back in "Coach Mom."  It has been a while.  I coached soccer when Jersey #1 was in kindergarten.  I am coaching again, 5 years later, when Jersey #4 is in kindergarten.  My how time flies...

Jersey #4 and Jersey #5 are both on my team.  I asked for permission to register Jersey #5 for soccer, even though he is not of kindergarten age, because I knew he would feel left out with all of his siblings playing soccer.  Plus, with his size, I knew he would not stand out oddly.  He enjoys the game of soccer, but definitely tuckers out faster than the other kids on his team, including his sister.

I am completely enjoying soccer season this Fall.

The weather is great for it right now.  (Although we can expect it to become much colder as the season progresses).

I enjoy washing an entire load of uniforms.  5 jerseys, 5 shorts, 10 socks, 1 coach shirt.

I have a whole bin in the hallway, dedicated to soccer gear.

We come home from practice/games and air out the cleats and shin guards on the front porch.  Decorating in soccer gear?  Why, yes we do!

I enjoyed playing soccer when I was a kid.

It is fun for me to see my own children enjoying soccer too.

Plus, I get to coach, and enjoy it with them.

Growing as a Team

Here is the starting line-up for the Home Team...

We had a little fun with uniforms and photos today. I wanted to organize my blog a little bit, and try to find some consistency for writing about the antics of my growing children. I decided to start with new photos. Next I need to organize my time to be able to blog more consistently.

Our children are growing up so fast. It seems that we are moving on to the next phase of parenting. There are no more infants in the house. Jersey #5 is potty training right now. Everyone sleeps through the night and wakes smoothly the next morning. (Actually, The Referee and I are finding we are oversleeping many mornings lately, because our child "alarm clocks" are no longer waking us up at night or in the early morning). Jersey #5 is the only child who still requires assistance to fasten his seatbelt in the van--and even with that he climbs into his own seat and tries to help fasten some of the harness straps.

The older kids are making their own friends and wanting to choose their own activities. The children have their own interests and sense of clothing style. It is quite an adjustment for me to not pick out everone's outfit before we go somewhere, or to plan play dates and activities for myself (or to wear the kids out). The older kids are even wanting to decide how to celebrate their upcoming birthdays. My days no longer revolved around nap time.

When I only had infants and toddlers, or infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, I had full control of how our days went. I set the schedule. I planned the meals and snacks. I determined the playdates and activities. Everything revolved around me. I had everything organized to my liking, and the kids followed my lead.

Suddenly, everything is different. It really isn't suddenly, but it sure feels more abrupt than I expected. Instead of being the team manager, I am really becoming more of a coach. I am encouraging the kids to make wise choices, and helping them see the cause of natural consequences to their actions.

For the most part, I think we are entering the easiest phase of parenting right now. The work of the early years is ending, but the worry of the adolescent years has not yet begun...

I am able to see some of the fruits of my efforts. The behavior of my children reflects the effort I put into those training years. Then again, their poor choices shine a spotlight on areas where I need to capture their hearts more. I am guessing this is more of a character building season.

The Home Team is in a re-building season. LOL! I just cracked myself up with that thought. This sports theme can be so much fun.

There is much truth there too. Our marriage is in a rebuilding season. Our family is in a rebuilding season. Our careers are in a re-building season. Our finances are in a re-building season. Our parenting is in a character-building season. It is interesting how it all ties together.

We are in the midst of the pre-season conditioning exercises.

I am looking forward to the new season. From where I stand right now, 2011 has so much potential...

3 Cheers for the Coach

My experience as a cheerleading coach has been quite interesting, but definitely one that I do not care to repeat. I just wanted to give the girls an opportunity to try cheerleading. I didn’t want the program cancelled just because there was no coach. But, honestly, I do not know what I am doing. It seems accurate to say that coaches have much more to offer when they actually know something about the sport. The best coaches seem to have a real passion for their sports too.

I do not know anything about cheerleading. I was never a cheerleader. I do not have rhythm. I am not skilled at gymnastics. I do not even look cute in a skirt! What was I thinking?

The Upward sports program is more about faith than it is about sports. Each practice contains a devotion. The devotions build upon each other through the season, with the goal of teaching children about salvation through Jesus. Thankfully, I am comfortable leading a group of young girls through a devotion. So, that part of our weekly practices is going well.

As for the cheer part, I am counting on the fact that the girls are young, and they are cute, so no one will care that our cheers are a mess. I did manage to learn some very basic fundamental moves and stances. They are able to call out a cheer, and clap together (most of the time). After that, it is anyone’s guess as to what will happen.

Four of the girls are 6-8 years old, and seem to be able to learn the cheer combinations just fine. Three of the girls are 5 years old, either by chronological age or by developmental age. In any sport, 5-year olds are the ones who are easily distracted. Cheerleading is no different. That is why I am counting on their adorable presence to get us big applause!

Jersey #3’s first flag football game is scheduled for next week. His sisters will be cheering for that game. Jersey #3 is one of those easily distracted 5-year olds, too. This could get interesting.

Soccer

I love to play soccer. I played when I was a kid, starting in 5th grade. I was able to petition and start up a girls' soccer team when I entered high school (because I was not permitted to play on the boys' team, since it was a contact sport). When we were engaged, I convinced my husband to join me on a co-ed adult soccer team. He had never played before. He was naturally athletic. I was still a klutz. He had an Ok time, but was not very impressed. I had a blast. I even sprained my ankle during a game, and still thought it was a blast.

When our Jersey #1 was in kindergarten, I volunteered to coach her first soccer team. My husband reluctantly became the team referee, because I had no luck getting the other parents to help out much. I had a blast coaching. My husband liked being the ref for his kid's game, but disliked that we were shouldering so much responsibility for the team. [He had a point: there were days when I was standing on the sidelines, coaching with Jersey #4 strapped to my chest in an infant carrier, and Jersey #2 & #3 playing at my feet, while my husband was on the field as referee....while a slew of parents and grandparents from our team sat on the sidelines to watch the game, but not volunteer for anything!] I was not able to coach this past soccer year, when we've had 2 soccer players, because Jersey #5 was due to be born during the Fall soccer season. Instead, I became Team Mom for both teams, and my husband became team referee for Jersey #2's team.

As much as I love soccer, I sure was happy to see this soccer season end yesterday. It turned out that with 2 daughters playing soccer on 2 different teams, at least half of their games overlapped or were scheduled at the same time. Instead of attending soccer games as a family and cheering on our girls, we were split up, going in two different directions. That was no fun. We rounded out the season with a finale reminiscent of that first soccer year....I was asked to coach for Jersey #2's team (because her coach was out of town that day), and my husband was the referee for that game! I will include a couple pictures. The really cool part was that Jersey #2 was thrilled to have her Mom coach her team...I had a blast coaching....and she scored her first goal that game!